For the third time since June, the Battle Ground City Council reviewed a Planning Commission recommendation to allow higher-density housing near Cedars North Airport during its Monday, Oct. 21, meeting.
However, the applicant who initially requested the rezone to accommodate a proposed subdivision has since revised its plans to comply with the current zoning regulations, meaning the airpark district will remain unchanged for now.
History of rezoning considerations
The airpark zone, which surrounds the privately owned, public-use Cedars North Airport, currently permits detached single-family homes — of which there are seven. A request to rezone the 78.67-acre district surfaced after a developer, representing the Lawson family, sought to ease development restrictions. Last year, the family requested an increase in housing density from 2.5 units per acre to 3 in their 27 acres in the northern section of the airpark zone.
In May, the city’s Planning Commission recommended this change. However, during a June 17 City Council meeting, dozens of local residents, pilots and aviation advocates opposed the idea, arguing that higher-density housing would be incompatible with airport operations. Many feared that new residents would push for the airport’s closure due to noise and safety concerns. In May, a letter the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) sent on May 17 informed the city’s Community Development Department that rezoning the district may not comply with state law, which requires that general-use airports be protected.
When the City Council revisited the issue in August, it decided to maintain the current zoning, directing local landowners, including the Lawson family, to propose within 60 days development options that would align with the airport’s operations.
Rezoning proposal resurfaces
Confusion arose during the council’s meeting on Monday, Oct. 21, when the Planning Commission’s original recommendation to increase density was unexpectedly reintroduced by Public Works staff. Planning supervisor Sam Crummett recommended the council take no action on the proposal. He explained that the 60-day deadline had passed with no agreements regarding light industrial options, adding that the Lawson family had submitted a new application in September for 10 residential lots, following the airpark district’s current 2.5 units per acre regulation.
Crummett further noted that, under Washington state’s Growth Management Act, cities must ensure that developments near general aviation airports do not create land-use conflicts.
Councilor Shane Bowman expressed frustration, questioning why the city hadn’t conducted a compatibility study to determine whether rezoning would affect airport operations. City Attorney Ken Harper clarified that such a study should be initiated by the developers as part of the application process, not by the city.
“It really behooves the city to recognize that this is no longer going to be successful as a city-led initiative when the underlying interests are not really this sort of municipal purpose,” Harper said, adding it is not a matter the city or its Community Development department should be taking “a weighted viewpoint on.”
“The city needs to be the reviewing agency, not the sponsor of that,” Harper said.
Despite the ongoing debate, Kathy MacAleer, a homeowner in the airpark zone, is hopeful that the new application, which adheres to current zoning regulations and neighborhood covenants, will align with airport operations.
“The airpark (neighbors) will continue to be supportive in working with the city for any proposal brought to the table,” MacAleer said. “We want this to continue, and we will be cooperative and have been cooperative.”
The City Council voted to direct city staff to support the applicant in accordance with current zoning regulations.
